A quote by (Art Byrd)

A Quote by...

Personal Insights and Thoughts from actors, actresses and directors who were featured in the newsletter.

A Byrd’s Eye View Complied by Art Byrd

Friday, January 31, 14

Prologue Someone once told me there was nothing to do in Youngstown. I didn’t believe that. I could always find something to do in the Valley, whether it was a play at the Playhouse or the Oakland, dancing at Ballet Western Reserve, or an outdoor concert at Mill Creek Park.

This remark was the reason I started my newsletter, A Byrd’s Eye View. In it we offer easy-to-read news of events in What’s Happening Around The Valley. We also try to highlight other events and newsmakers in stories. Since I see a lot of movies, it’s a natural to include film reviews as well.

But I wanted to add something more. I’ve been a collector of quotes since college. Quotes have always motivated me to action, helped me understand situations, and forged connections to others with the same thought patterns.

While researching for reviews, I found a bounty of quotes from actors and directors that were really good and interesting. I started putting quotes on the front page of the newsletter and calling them “A Quote By...”

I wasn’t sure if people were reading the quotes until I got an email from my friend, Michelle Cellio O’Brien, who suggested that I include more males instead of the actresses I was featuring.

The quotes featured in this book were previously featured in the newsletter, with some extras included.

Quotes can give insight into a person’s personality. I hope you enjoy knowing more about these people.

Most of all, I hope you are inspired by their words.

Thanks to the newsletter’s former copy editor and my friend, Michele Ristich Gatts and Monnie Ryan for her great restaurant and book reviews.

And my sincere thank you to all of you for reading the newsletter.

Art Byrd

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Featured Quotes By George Clooney Robert Downey, Jr Jennifer Laurence Zac Efron Jon Hamm Will Smith Kristen Stewart Queen Latifah Angelina Jolie Christopher Nolan Rachel McAdams Ryan Reynolds Jean Dijardin Peter Berg

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M. Night Shyamalan Clint Eastwood Denzel Washington Ben Stiller Gwyneth Paltrow Cameron Diaz Matthew McConaughey Michael Douglas Anthony Hopkins Meryl Streep Martin Freeman Jason Sudeikis Amy Poehler Justin Timberlake

George Clooney, Actor

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“The best advice I got from my aunt, the great singer Rosemary Clooney, and from my dad, who was a game show host and news anchor, was: Don't wake up at seventy years old sighing over what you should have tried. Just do it, be willing to fail, and at least you gave it a shot. That's echoed for me all through the last few years.�

“I think that the power is the principle. The principle of moving forward, as though you have the confidence to move forward, eventually gives you confidence when you look back and see what you've done.�

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Robert Downey Jr. Actor

“Even as far back as when I started acting at 14, I know I've never considered failure.”

Jennifer Lawrence, Actress

“I don't know if this is why everything has worked so well and I'm not sure I'd recommend this kind of thinking to anyone else, but I've always known I'd be successful in acting. I have certainly worked for it.”

“It’s easy to get pigeonholed, so I think it’s important that when one thing gets really big—it’s a wise decision to do the opposite.”

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“I wore goofy hats to school and did musical theater. Most people thought I was a dork. But if you have a sense of humor about it, no one can bring you down.�

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Zac Efron, Actor

Jon Hamm, Actor

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"I got into acting because my teachers kept nudging me into it. The power a teacher has to influence someone is so great. I can't think of a profession I have more respect for."

"Losing both parents at a young age gave me a sense that you can't really control life--so you'd better live it while it's here. I stopped believing in a storybook existence a long time ago. All you can do is push in a direction and see what comes of it."

“You might have more talent, than me....

You might be sexier than me...

But, if we get on a treadmill together - two things, you are getting off first or I am going to die.

You are not going to outwork me.�

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Will Smith, Actor

Kristen Stewart, Actress

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“I had to act in a school play when I was about ten years old. I really didn't want to do it. But everyone had to do it so I didn't have a choice. A talent agent came and watched it and later gave me some work. It's funny because I'd always known that I wanted a movie career. I just didn't think that I would be in the movies.�

“There's no way I can represent for everyone. I can't represent for all women or all big women or all black women. It's important for people not to make celebrities their source of who they should be in life.

I can't take on the pressure of being perfect. Nobody is. “

"You have to stand for what you believe in and sometimes you have to stand alone."

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Queen Latifah, Musician, Actress & Talk Show Host

“All women do have a different sense of sexuality, or sense of fun, or sense of like what's sexy or cool or tough.”

Angelina Jolie, Actress

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“I don't see myself as beautiful, because I can see a lot of flaws. People have really odd opinions. They tell me I'm skinny, as if that's supposed to make me happy.”

“I think audiences get too comfortable and familiar in today's movies. They believe everything they're hearing and seeing. I like to shake that up.�

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Christopher Nolan, Director/Writer

M.Night Shyamalan, Director/Writer

“Art is the ability to convey that we are not alone. When I sit down next to you in a movie theater, we get to share each other's point of view. We become part of a collective soul.

That's the magic in the movies.”

“Good cannot exist without evil and evil cannot exist without good.”

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“Respect your efforts, respect yourself. Selfrespect leads to self-discipline.

When you have both firmly under your belt, that's real power.�

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Clint Eastwood, Actor/Director

Denzel Washington, Actor/Director

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“I made a commitment to completely cut out drinking and anything that might hamper me from getting my mind and body together.

And the floodgates of goodness have opened upon me - spiritually and financially.�

“I think most actors have incredibly big egos, but they`re also incredibly insecure. That`s a bad combination. I include myself in this group. For whatever psychological reasons, we want and need approval from everybody in the universe, though we also think we`re totally unworthy of it. We need to validate ourselves through our work.�

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Ben Stiller, Actor/Director/Writer

Gwyneth Paltrow, Actress

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“I realized life is so short and precious, you should do things that make you feel inspired, that push you and teach you something. I`d rather not have a big house, a huge closet of clothes, diamonds and a private plane, and instead a body of work that I`m proud of.�

“Once we were doing a scene, and suddenly, right in the middle of the take, he stops and looks at me and says 'I don't believe you.” That'll stop you in your tracks. When Al Pacino tells you that he doesn't believe you, you believe it.”

“Life is a series of commas, not periods.” Be the lean horse for the long ride. I figure I am in the third round of a 15 round fight.”

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Matthew McConaughey, Actor

Cameron Diaz, Actress

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“It's [beauty] a kind of radiance. People who possess a true inner beauty, their eyes are a little brighter, their skin a little more dewy. They vibrate at a different frequency.�

“Actors have always done well playing the bad guys in movies.

Audiences enjoy bad guys because through these characters, normal people are able to experience, vicariously, what it’s like to be vicious, nasty, and amoral.

Kindness is not rewarded very much as far as drama is concerned.”

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Michael Douglas, Actor/Producer

“I think all those actors from that generation, like Bogart - they were wonderful actors. They didn't act.

They just came on and they did it, and the characters were wonderful.

“Blank face is fine. The computer works faster than the brain, don't forget. The art of acting is not to act. Once you show them more, what you show them, in fact is bad acting.”

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Anthony Hopkins, Actor

It’s incredible -- I’m 60, and I’m

Meryl Streep, Actress

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playing the romantic lead in romantic comedies. Bette Davis is rolling over in her grave. I’ve been given great, weird, interesting parts well, past my sell by date.”

“When I came back to Britain, I realized that I was no longer a very young woman. I had to meet my new consciousness, my new age, with roles that reflected it somewhat.�

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Julie Christie (Shampoo, Heaven Can Wait) Actress

Vin Diesel, Actor

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“If you're the type of person who has to fulfill your dreams, you've gotta be resourceful to make sure you can do it. I came out to California when I was 21, thinking my New York credentials would take me all the way. I came back home a year later all dejected and a failure.�

“I love making people laugh and feel good, and that's awesome and special for me to be able to do that, but there really is nothing like kicking ass whether it's on a major scale, or whether it's in more of a dramatic fashion. Being physical and taking care of business the old-fashioned way is something that I love doing. “

Friday, January 31, 14

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Actor

Kristen Wiig, (Saturday Night Live & Bridesmaids) Actress

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“What I will say is that a lot of people are talking about this movie (Bridesmaids) because it has a big female cast ... And to me, I’m waiting for the day when that doesn’t have to be a news story and that there can just be movies with a lot of women in it, and it’s just the norm.”

“I watched every single Bond movie three or four times, taking in everything I could about how the character had been portrayed in the past, then threw all that away once I started doing the role.”

Daniel Craig Actor

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“It's a huge challenge, a huge responsibility. Bond is a huge iconic figure in movie history. These opportunities don't come along very often so I thought, 'Why not?”

“Right after winning the Oscar, when everyone was going home, they let these little gold Oscar shapes flutter down from the ceiling. Leonardo DiCaprio came over, bowed down, and kissed my hand. It was the most fabulous moment — such a lovely gesture. He didn't say anything.”

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Helen Mirren, (The Queen) Actress/Oscar winner

Rachel Bilson Actress

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“I feel like you have to be who you are and be true to yourself first, always. You can't worry about how you're going to be perceived by other people. I have a quote that my mom taught me: "It's none of my business what other people think of me."

“Sometimes you have to go places with characters and emotions within yourself you don't want to do, but you have a duty to the story and as a storyteller to do it.�

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Hugh Jackman, Actor

Rooney Mara, Actress

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“I always wanted to be an actor, but I was always fighting it. It never seemed that honorable to me, and I guess I was always afraid that I might fail.�

“....I like to go on really different types of dates.

Going someplace new or some new part of the city, something that's not your average thing. Something where you just go have an adventure together. “

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Rachel McAdams, Actress “I guess you have to be really open to your acting partners and believe in the story.”

Ryan Reynolds, Actor

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“Acting has given me a way to channel my angst. I feel like an overweight, pimply faced kid a lot of the time - and finding a way to access that insecurity, and put it toward something creative is incredibly rewarding. I feel very lucky.�

"I was a very bad student. I didn't listen in class. I was always dreaming.

My teachers called me ‘Jean of the Moon’ and I realize now that I never stopped dreaming.

Thank you very much. Thank you for this dream."

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Jean Dujardin, Best actor Oscar winner accepting his award for his role in The Artist.

Peter Berg, Director/Actor

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“I've had great success and I've had catastrophic failure. It's really how you handle the rough stuff that defines you, I think.�

“I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.”

“If you have an enemy, then learn and know your enemy, don't just be mad at him or her.”

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“If I am a cup maker, I'm interested in making the best cup I possibly can.

My effort goes into that cup, not what people think about it.”

Denzel Washington, Actor

Christopher Nolan, Director

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“We all wake up in the morning wanting to live our lives the way we know we should. But we usually don't, in small ways. That's what makes a character like Batman so fascinating.

He plays out our conflicts on a much larger scale.�

“It seems like the classic tale of a small guy who ends up being a hero against his will. And I think that what is always said is true -- heroism is when deeds of bravery, or whatever, are done when you’re scared.

If you’re not scared then you’re not being brave.

You know, then you’re just being normal.”

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Martin Freeman, Actor, who plays Bilbo Baggins, in The Hobbit series

Jason Sudeikis, Actor/Writer, formerly of Saturday Night Life

Friday, January 31, 14

“When somebody listens and laughs, you're always in better shape than when you're with those folks who just kind of look at you when you say something funny. You wonder if they're looking at you because they're mad that they didn't say it or something. It's hard to handle that.�

“I'm always friendly and encouraging on set. I want people to be at their best creatively...I want people to come see my films and enjoy them, but at the end of the day you can't control what people think.�

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Mark Wahlberg, Actor

“Confidence, not cockiness.

Knowing who you are is confidence.

Mila Kunis, Actress

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Cockiness is knowing who you are and pushing it down everyone’s throat.”

"When you feel scared, hold someone’s hand, look into their eyes.

When you feel brave, do the same thing. You are here because you’re smart and brave, and if you add to that kindness and the ability to change a tire, you almost make up the perfect person.”

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Amy Poehler, Comedian/Actress

“I don’t feel guilty about success. You can’t feel guilty about aspiring to be good at something.”

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Justin Timberlake, Singer/Actor “If you put out 150 percent, then you can always expect 100 percent back. That’s what I was always told as a kid, and It’s worked for me so far!

The sources for the quotes used in this book and the newsletter were from the websites: thinkexist.com, BrainyQuote.com and Lucy Quotes.

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Again, thank you for your support of our newsletter.

See you in the next 150 editions.

Art Byrd A Byrd’s Eye View © artbyrdagain@yahoo.com

Friday, January 31, 14